


All I Ask

by MorbidLace



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, not really there's no comfort only hurt, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 08:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9598475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorbidLace/pseuds/MorbidLace
Summary: "All I ask is if this is my last night with you, hold me like I'm more than just a friend."





	

The night Inigo left was the night Gerome fully and truly shut himself off.

 It was a peaceful night. Inigo had called Gerome over for a night of pub-crawling and “fun”, and Gerome had accepted without much of a fuss. While these excursions weren’t exactly how Gerome would choose to spend his time, he didn’t mind humouring Inigo once in a while. After a few hours of Inigo being shut down and Gerome being fawned over by local women in dingy, loud, musky taverns, he and Inigo had found a mostly quiet booth at the back of a local pub. It was dimly lit and smelled of sweat and spit, and while it was just as loud as other taverns over at the bar, Inigo himself had actually opted out of the action in favour of a quieter, more intimate, hidden place near the back. He looked like he had something to say, but he hadn’t said it all night. Gerome watched as he fidgeted, shifting his hands under the table, his leg jerking around like he was ready to run at any moment.

Gerome couldn’t say he didn’t know the feeling. He felt the same anxiety, but he tried to not let it register. He’d gotten quite good at putting up this façade around Inigo especially, as Inigo made his nerves run wild with everything he did. Every look, every absent-minded touch set Gerome on fire. Even just being around the other made him feel so much, but say even less than usual.

“Um…” Inigo piped up, from across the table. Gerome lifted his head and looked at him in the face. His cheeks were flushed a little bit from the drinking and dancing he’d been doing, his hair a little disheveled from when he’d raked a hand through it earlier, frustrated at another rebutted advance. His elbows were rested on the table, his hands raised in front of his face, fingers laced together tightly, as though that was how he was keeping his tension reigned in. His eyes were downcast to the table between them, and all of the rings from cups that had been put there without coasters. “…I have something to tell you, Gerome.”

Anxiety pooled in Gerome’s stomach. What would possibly be so serious that Inigo felt the need to pull him away to a hidden corner in a pub? What would make him so strung-up like this? Was it something he’d done? Had he somehow overstepped his bounds?

“…Well, go ahead and tell me, then. What is it?” He tried to keep his tone steady, despite the fact that his mouth had turned into a completely barren desert, with a lump slowly forming in his chest, threatening to crawl into his throat at a moment’s notice.

“…I’m leaving. Well, Owain, Severa and I are. I can’t exactly explain why, they…uh. Told us not to tell anyone, but…” He paused, glancing up at Gerome for a moment and giving the faintest of smiles. “…I had to tell someone. I…I had to tell you.” Gerome froze.

“Leaving? Where?” The redhead dared not to move, as though one movement would send Inigo away at that very instant, like he was a scared animal.

“Like I said, I can’t really explain…It’s only temporary, it’s supposedly just a mission that this person needs mercenaries for, so…” He trailed off, looking back at the table and trailing his finger around one of the cup stains. “…I just wanted to have one last night with you before I go, you know? A last hurrah. And I wanted to tell you that we will be back, just in case anyone gets worried about us.” Inigo smiled a little at him, but Gerome still hadn’t moved. His breath was caught in his chest, his shocked eyes thankfully hidden behind his mask. His finger twitched, and he finally managed to tear his eyes away from Inigo and toward the door of the tavern.

“…Let’s take a walk.” He croaked out, and Inigo rose before him. He pulled himself up and lead Inigo to the door, pushing his way outside.

You didn’t come here to make friends, he repeated to himself. You didn’t come here to make friends, you came here to save the world. Inigo had already kind of been his friend, though. After all, Inigo was the only one who offered to stay behind with him when he voiced his distaste with the idea to go back in time in the first place. Inigo was a constant presence, a rock, though Gerome was always worried that his rock was actually sandstone, being slowly worn away by his hostility and standoffishness. The two walked silently for a few minutes, Gerome trying to find words to say to express what he was feeling. He was afraid. He didn’t want to lose his only friend…not that Inigo was his only friend to speak of, he had broken his plan to not make friends quite a few times, but…Inigo was something more to him.

He loved him. Desperately, truly, unconditionally. He was irrevocably in love with Inigo, and he had been for quite some time. Obviously Inigo was unaware of this, if he was truly as stoic as he hoped he was. He didn’t want to saddle him with extra baggage. He didn’t want things between them to change. They were good enough for him as they were, close comrades, confidants.

“…Gerome…?” Inigo spoke first, shattering Gerome’s train of thought. Gerome stopped, realizing that Inigo had stopped a few steps behind him. He turned around to meet Inigo’s gaze, staring straight into his eyes through his mask. His heart jumped a little bit, and Inigo took a step forward, reaching up slowly to the sides of his face. He flinched away slightly on instinct, but Inigo was undeterred, pausing only for a moment until he lifted the mask from Gerome’s face. His eyes were a little red, stinging with tears that he was hopelessly trying to blink back, his eyebrows drawn together from the effort. He was scared.

“I’m sorry-“ Gerome started, looking away and rubbing his eyes. “I think something got in my eye at the tavern, I’ve been trying to blink it out-“ He was cut off by the sound of Inigo’s soft chuckle, making his heart perform acrobatic tricks within his ribcage once more. He looked over at Inigo, who was smiling sadly at him, the same redness in his eyes.

“Gerome, I…wanted to bring you out tonight to tell you something else…” He trailed off, hesitating for a second and looking down at the mask in his hands. He looked like he was weighing his options, but what options Gerome didn’t know. He gripped the mask in one hand, reaching the other out for Gerome’s. He didn’t flinch away this time. The slightly shorter, grey-haired man took a step forward, leaning up until Gerome could feel his breath, and Gerome’s mind went blank. Gerome leaned forward and closed the gap between them, the gentle kiss sending sparks down his spine and into every single nerve in his body went alight. His hand squeezed Inigo’s tightly, leaning more into the kiss, before Inigo’s free hand made it’s way up to Gerome’s shoulder, and Gerome’s to Inigo’s waist. The kiss wasn’t clean or perfect, it was Gerome’s first after all, but it was everything Gerome ever needed.

They both pulled away after a few moments, the kiss breaking off far before Gerome would have liked, but this gave him a view of the other man’s face. He was flushed a deep red, his eyes slightly lidded and his lips redder than before. His eyelashes framed his dark eyes so beautifully, he was so beautiful. There was a silence between them for a few minutes, that wasn’t heavy or awkward, but solemn.

Gerome realized then that his first kiss would likely be his last.

“Inigo, I-“

“I love you, Gerome.” Inigo’s eyes met his, and Gerome noticed that behind the tears there was a fire. “And I swear to you, I will come back. We will see each other again.” He squeezed Gerome’s hand tighter, and Gerome was sure he meant it. He just wasn’t sure things would go according to Inigo’s plans. He nodded slightly anyway, finally allowing a tear to fall from his eye and roll down his cheek.

“Just…please return safely.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry whenever i get this song stuck in my head i just think about this fucking concept and i needed to get this POISON out of my brain  
> also follow my twitter if you want, @MorbidLace


End file.
